Literally? Are you joking?

If that's what really happened, that's not good...

At the end of this move, I do hope they are able to finally make it a successful proposition for JJP long term. More players in the market place is only a good thing for pinball. JJP certainly knows how to pack a PF.

Dialed In & Willy Wonka are two of the best games ever made no matter what that dipshit Kaneda says.

Uh, just because someone has a different opinion than yours doesn't make them a dipshit........

Trying to say what the best ever let alone the two best ever is more a dipshit move than saying you don't like a game

Pat did have some say when the playfield / artwork was redone. Opening up the bag end shot area was Pat's idea from what I read. I completely disagree with Kaneda on Hobbit as that game is incredible with one of the best world under glass in pinball in my opinion.

I called him a dipshit because he pisses me off.He can be entertaining but he doesn’t know shit about actually owning and playing pins!His constant bashing of JJP is what pisses me off not that he doesn’t like the same games as me.I can tell you what he did to Wonka was bullshit it’s a wonderful pin with the one more time appeal

You can leave Stern boy!

While I think it's a good idea to have engineering/purchasing located in the same building as manufacturing, there's got to be some growing pains getting new lineworkers up to speed if they are fresh off the street. Anyone know if the lineworkers were given an opportunity to relocate?

I’m sure there will be some but not much. One call to the dozens of temp agencies in Chicago like Stern and you have a work force in days. With the line format they use (put these 5 screws in and slide it down) they should be able to train basics quick. Temps are not coding or fabricating complicated assemblies. As for moving existing line workers I am sure they could but for just over minimum wage positions it’s highly unlikely many would relocate. Just an opinion.

Aren't there a lot of sports teams that moved but kept their names that were based on their original homes? Lakers and Dodgers come to mind, I'm sure there's more.

No, but first saying in your podcast Willy Wonka is such a great game with lots of innovations and it 'will change pinball' when you've played it before others have, and later saying it's a bad game......

Sure: changing your opinion later on is one thing, but going from 'really over the top' to changing to 'it's a bad game', that leaves you at least doubting about once judgement.

Just the opposite. Minnesota Lakers became Los Angeles Lakers. Brooklyn Dodgers became Los Angeles Dodgers. If you leave the city, you should leave the city. If Jersey Jack has zero presence in Jersey they he should drop “Jersey” and be Chicago Jack or at minimum the artist formerly known as Jersey Jack of Illinois

Yeah, but then they changed the location name in front. Bronx Bombers/Brooklyn Dodgers became LA Dodgers.

Cleveland Browns left town, kinda overnight, and entirely changed to the Baltimore Ravens.

Either way, no way Jack is removing Jersey from the name. I hope so anyway....

Yeah, don't disagree about the worker putting screws in. I was thinking more along the lines of jobs that require a some skill (i.e. constructing the wiring harness).

One thing they will initially lose is the knowledge of the undocumented quirks that workers gain from repetitively building hundreds of pins (i.e. shove this wire a little bit to the left so it doesn't get pinched later when we install this other widget). Good news is engineering will be in the same building to assist.

Been there done that when the company I work for moved our manufacturing from up north to FLA.

All true though I suspect like AP and Stern most wire harnesses now come in preassembled from outside sources but I could be wrong. Should be an interesting learning curve but sometimes a fresh start for companies can be a good thing. I wish them all the best.

Rockwell Microelectronics/Semiconductor Products Division had no issues with The first Gottlieb Solid State system. Design, development and purchasing were done at 4311 Jamboree Road in Newport Beach, California while all the boards were produced at 6 Butterfield Trail in El Paso, Texas. The wafer fabrication for the proprietary Rockwell IC's was also done in the attached plant to the Newport Beach offices.

Note that the Gottlieb business was a niche contract for Rockwell compared to the various boards and assemblies they were pumping out of that factory in El Paso.

I have to admit my experience was with a board that I designed that required careful alignment (RF transmitter) that was farmed out south and to other countries. I imagine digital boards are a lot more friendly.

I'm sure they will sort it out, but I wouldn't want the the first pins out the door.

Interesting that Rockwell made boards for Gottlieb.

No.

But he IS still a dipshit.

Wire harnesses are done in-house on a template board where you lay the wiring out on pegs just as it is mapped out. Very easy....no real skill involved other than knowing colors and following a life sized drawing. Perfect job for temps.

Thanks for the clarification. Wasn’t sure. On the last Stern tour I went on this year they mentioned something about harnesses coming in complete and soldered. Same with mech assemblies. Must have been something else wasn’t sure. Agreed not complicated work just monotonous.

One thing that drives up cost on smaller production runs like pinball is rework. If it's not done right, then you have to factor in the repair time. Granted, with node boards and serial busses nowadays, wiring harnesses are not nearly are complex as in the past. Still, if someone has to 'touch it' for repair, then that's a cost that needs to be factored in. Plus it can affect the run rate.

Williams certainly did it that way, as you could have seen on an Expo factory tour to the 3401 N California or Waukegan plants. I believe they were the last ones though.

Stern still does some harnesses in house. VE runs especially. The template nail boards are kept until they decide no more runs then they reuse them. It’s funny to see the names on the prints that they use to identify them, because they use code names on everything.

Yeah, any tour videos in the past few years still show wiring harnesses being created at Stern.

Good lord people....I guess Jersey Mike's should change their name also? I guess Komatsu heavy equipment should change their name since they are no longer in Komatsu as well

It's a silly argument...Jack will always be known as "Jersey Jack", and I am betting he maintains a residence there, regardless of where the production moves to. No one really cares what the title is.....if you are in pinball, you have a lot better things to spend your time worrying about.

When they did big monolithic IDC terminated harnesses that's the main way of doing it. But remember now they use a modular board design with molex connectors and smaller 'jump to closest board' designs.

And disagree on the 'no skill' commentary. In the plant I worked at, the wiring folks were usually long term experienced folks. Consistency took skill and diligence. Everyone is a temp worker... but that is more like saying 'everyone is a contractor'. You outsource the labor pool, but people stay on 'job' as much as possible.

Yep, there were still photos and parts and pieces of all of the when we emptied out the Waukegan facility. I have plenty of pics inside stern where they are in the background, so I know they are still used there. They might outsource some of the more intricate mech harnesses, or something along those lines, but the main harness is still done in-house. Thinking to things like the harness for the BM66 turn table....I could see where that might be specialized enough to be out-sourced.

Agreed....and I could have said that differently. Stern has a lot of long-term temps, and most companies try to keep the same temps coming back for the developed skill and experience. I guess what I was thinking when I said "no skill" was more like college or vocational school training. There is definitely a "skill" involved, and not everyone is suited for those particular tasks....but mostly the skill is developed on the job.

This one very specific example was actually my idea, something I'd wanted done for a long time. There is no question Pat's involvement opened the door to getting a number of significant and needed changes done to the game, however, including this one.

No one has mentioned the big downside to the move. He will have to pump his own gas....

Nah, Kaneda earns that status all on his own.

What if (and I know jack shit about this move) since Jack is reportedly just a figurehead at this point, the investors drop both Jersey AND Jack from the name and start fresh?

Oh man are you serious?

super unlikely. They may keep the "JJP" term and possibly just rename the one "J". "Jumpin Jack Pinball" haha

Thanks for sharing Keith, very interesting. The game turned out great, as did the code! Hobbit is one of my favorite pins.

what if... "they just change the company to JJP instead of Jersey Jack Pinabll?"

curious, curious...

Pinball

I like it. Simple and direct.

King Games Pinball (KGP), twisting around something already out there....

I hope not. For all the rumored problems with the company the name isn’t what is holding them back from success.

Rumored problems?

If he has to pay taxes anything like what I paid in that area....he could still use the JJP.....it would just mean: 'Jack's Just Poor'. LOL

But I am sure he paid his share in Jersey as well, so he is used to that hand in his back pocket.

So right!
Me in Indiana 2600sqft home$2010 prop tax per year
My son in Illinois 2500sqft home $5250 per year WTF!

Small price to pay to leave Indiana.

Here’s to hoping they are able to finally make it a successful proposition for JJP long term by this move. More players in the market place is only a good thing for pinball. JJP certainly knows how to pack a PF, like WOZ, DI and POTC. If they can stay to those roots, the next 2 should be interesting.

Will not quite right who moved to Kirkwood Misssouri and I’m still here in the very financially responsible state of Indiana.
Maybe the weed will make things more palatable there in Illinois
Watch the murder rate and your tax rate plummet .

I think its a good move for JJP but I have to ask, who gives a flying fuck where they make their pins? Or even more ridiculous is what Jack will call himself.